Duplex heater



W. R. RAY

DUPLEX HEATER Sept. 3, 1929.

Filed Feb. 25, 1926 INVENTOR.

BY I 4 WILLIAM RUTH RAY, or SAN MATEO, oAnrromvm, AssIeNoaro w. s. RAYMANU- FACTURING co, A conroaa'rron or CALIFORNIA.

Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES DUPLEX Application filed Februa y This invention relatesto a duplex heater such as a combination hot air furnace and a waterheater, and it relates particularly to a heater of this character whichis operated from a single burner or source ofheat and which is adaptedto be operated by a single burner, such as an oil burner or the like,and

further, to provide a thermostat-controlled electric-actuating device,whereby the heat from the burner. is automatically directed eitherthrough the furnace, or the water heater, or through both in unison, asconditions may demand. One formwhich the invention may assume isillustrated 1n the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view of a furnace and a water heater showingthe application of the thermostat-controlled electricactuatingmechanism. a i

Figure 2 shows a wiring diagramof the motor switch.

Practically all modern hotels, apartment houses, and dwellings areequipped with heating systems of one form or another such as steam orhot water, which is circulated through radiators and in the case ofprivate homes a hot air furnace of one make or another is usuallyemployed. Similarly, hot water heating systems are used in practicallyall instances so that hot water may be on tap both in the kitchen andthe bathroom at all times. The room heating system Whether steam, hotwater, or air,-is generally independent ofthe water heating system, andas such necessitates the installation of two separate systems which isnot only costly, but also wasteful when thermal efliciency isconsidered. The invention forming the sub ject matter of the presentapplication illustrates an air and a'water heating system which isoperated from a common source of heat such as the oil burner generallyindicated at A. The flame from the nozzle 2 entering the fire box 3 isdirected either through a hot air furnace B orthrough a 'PATVENTOF'FICE.

HEATER.

23, 1926. Serial lid-89,948.

water heater such as illustrated at C, or through both in unison aswillbe later described, that is, there may be a demand for hot water inwhich case the products of combustion from theburner will be directedthrough the water heater only, or it may be a fairly cold day, when thefurnace will be ingreater demand, and-the products of combustion arethen directed through the fur- 'nace. Again, it may happen that both thefurnace and the water heater are required, in which case productsofcombustion will be directed through both. f

The invention is primarily directed to a combination furnace and waterheater which may be operated from a single or common source of heat, butit also includes an actuating mechanism whereby the burner is controlledand the products of combustion automatically directed as required. Thisis accomplished as follows.

By referring to'Fig. 1 it will be noted that a damper 'iis interposedbetween the furnace and the fire box 3 and similarly that a damper5 islocated at the [upper end of the water heater C. If it is desired todirect the products of combustion from the burner A through the furnace,damper 4 is opened. Ifitis desired to direct the products ofcombustion'through the water heater,damper 5 is opened. If it is desiredto direct prodnets of combustion through both the furnace and the waterheater both dampers are :opened, and if'neither heat nor hot water isrequired, both dampersare closed. By referring to Fig. 1 it will benoted thatthe furnace and the water heater are enclosed by" means of ahousing generally indicated at D. Cool air is admitted to the bottom ofthehousing in any suitablemanner, and as it rises upwardly aroundthefurnace B and the water heater C, it is heated and finally dischargesthrough a pipe E, which communicates with the rooms to be heated.

Means are provided for automatically regulating the burner and thedampers, that is, the oilto the burner is shut off when no heat isrequired and it is automatically turned'on and ignited when either thefurnace or the water heater is in use. The furnace or main heatingcompartment is regulated through means of a room thermostat. 6 and amotor switch 7 while the water heater is actuated through means of athermostat 8. and a motor switch 9. The motor switch 7 serves severalfunctions; first, that of closing or breaking the circuit through theoil burner A; secondly, that of regulating, the oil fiow to the burner;third, that of regulating the air to the burner; and fourth, that ofopening or closing the damper 4. The motor switch 9 also serves severalfunctions. First, that of making or breakin the circuit through themotor driven oil burner and secondly, that of opening or closing thedamper 5. The room thermostat and the thermostat 8-; are substantiallyidentical in operation, although the individual structures may vary.Standard forms of thermostat 6 and thermostat 8 are employed and adetailed description of either is: accordingly thought unnecessary.Suiiice it to say that the room thermostat 6-is provided with threeterminals such as shown at 10,11 and 12: and so is the thermostat 8,.the three terminals being indicated at 14, 15 and 1 6.. The functions ofthe room thermostat 6 and the thermostat 8 are the same, to wit, that ofmaking a circuit through the motor switches 7 and 9' to which they areconnected. The room thermostat 6 is so constructed that itwillautomatically maintain a predetermined temperature within a room or anumber of connected rooms. For instance,. if it is desired to maintainthe room temperature normally at Fl, a circuit will be closed by thethermostat when this temperature is reached. This: circuit starts themotor switch 7 in operation and the switch operated thereby turns a halfrevolution, and closes the'damper 4. If the temperature drops a few:degrees, for instance to 68, another circuit is closed by the roomthermostat, the motor switch is again actuated and it turns anotherrevolution and then opens: the damper; The thermostat 8 functions in thesame manner. For instance, if it is desiredto maintain the water in theheating system at a temperature of 150, a circuit will be closed by thethermostat the moment this temperature is reached, the motor switch. 9is actuated thereby, and the motor switch turns a half revolution, andduring this revolution it: closes the damper 5, thus preventing theproducts of combustion from the burners from passing through the waterheater. If the temperature of the water dropsv for instance by-one ormore faucets being opened, the second circuit is closed through thethermostat, the motor switch 9 is again actuated and the damper 5 isopened. The type of oil'burner employed or illustratedin the presentinstance is a rotary type of atomizer burner. It consists eta cup. ornozzle such'as shown at 2 which is rotated at a high speed by means ofan electric motor such as indicated at 18.- The motor does not onlyrotate theatomizing; cup 2, but it also rotates a fan enclosed withinthe casing, 19. Air from the fan is discharged through. a, nozzle. 21,thus supplying the air required to. atomize the oil and a substantialportion of the air required for combustion of the oil. The oil isdelivered from a suitable source by means of a pipe 22 and its how isregulated by a valve 23. The oil passes from the valve through a hollowmotor shaft which supports the atomizing cup 2 and as such is delivereddirectly into the cup where it is projected or discharged by centrifugalaction into the fire box 3. An oil burner of this character isdescribed:and illustrated in detail in my Patent No. 1,253,422 entitled Oil burnerand issued J an. 15, 1918.

To start a burner of this character it is essential to close the circuitthrough the motor 18 and it is also essential to turn on the. oil. It isfurthermore necessary to ignite the oil when it is atomized anddischarged by the. burner and a gas burner 25 is employed for thispurpose. This burner normally burns with a small pilot flame but thesupply of gas to the burner is increased momentarily when the motor 18is startedso that a sufficiently large flame is produced to insureignition of the oil when the-burner is started.

The valve controlling the flow of gas through the burner 25' is openedand closed by means of a solenoid magnet diagrammatically illustrated at26in Fig. 2.

The flue for thepassage of the products of combustion is represented inthe drawings at 56),. 51, 52, 53,. 54. These products of com bustionpass. through the open damper 4 and enter the flue through the opening55. From thence they pass. downwardly back and forth through thepassages50, 51, and 52. They enter the passage 53: through the opening56 and pass upwardly to the passage 54. When the water heater is in usethe gases pass through the damper 5 directly into the passage 54.

A detail description of the operation will be as follows: Supposing thatthe entire i11- stal-lation is in. operation, the room temperature being7 0 and the water temperature 150. If this is the case, both dampers 4and 5 will be closed and the oil burner will not operate, as no heat isrequired. If the room temperature for one reason or another drops to-68, a: circuit will beciosed by the room thermostat 6 through the wires30 and 31. Current from a suitable source flows through the wire 30,.the motor Z,th'e contacts of the room thermostat and returns through thewire 31. A second wire 81 forms'a common connection between the twomotors 7 and 9 and the solenoid 26 is connected. therewith. A wire-32 isconnected with the opposite end of-thesolenoid and forms the return wireof the main circuit. In other words, when the contacts are closed by theroom thermostat 6 acircuitis closed: through the motor 7 and thesolenoid 26. A switch is operated by the motor 7 and this. closes thecircuit through the Wires 30 and 33.; The wire 33 also; forms a commonconnection between the two motors 7 and 9 and the motor 18 is connectedwith this common connection and the wire 32 through wires 34 and 35. Themoment the circuit is closed through the motor 18 by the motor switchthe circuit previously established by the contacts of the roomthermostat is broken and the motor 7 comes to rest, leavthe circuitthrough the motor 18 closed.

During the brief operation of the motor 7 a lever or crank arm 36actuated thereby is turned from the full line position shown in Fig. 1to the dotted line positionindicated at 36. This crank arm is connectedthrough a. link 37 with a second crank arm 38,'this crank arm beingsecured on the shaft 39 which supports the damper 1. In other words, thedamper 1 is moved from a partially closed to an open position and duringthis opening period the valve 23 and damper 20 is opened wide, thusinsuring operation of the burner asthe motor'has already been startedand similarly the gas flame whereby the oil is ignited when deliveredthrough means of a valve 23 and valve 23, the valve and damper 20 beingopened througha linkage connection from shaft 39 as indicated at 4:0.The burner is operating and as damper 4 is open the heat will passthrough the furnace and warm air will be supplied to the room. If thetemperature reaches 70 a contact is again made through the roomthermostat 6 through wire 30". This closes the circuit through the motor7 and the switch actuated thereby is turned to a position where thecircuit through the motor 18, valve 23 and solenoid 26, is broken. Thecrank arm 36 actuated by the motor 37 is turned from the dotted lineposition to the full line position shown at 36', the damper 4 is closed,and the oil valve 23 and the air damper are also practically closed,thus waste of heat or unnecessary operation of the oil burner, isavoided. If the water temperature is 150 and the temperature suddenlydrops by use of water, contact is made through wire 16 and the circuitis closed through the motor 9. A switch in this motor isturned to aposition where it closes the circuit through wires 31 and 33 and thecircuit is accordingly closed through the solenoid magnet 26,,

a valve 23 and the motor 18. The burner is thus started and as the motorswitch 9 is also provided with a crank arm such as shown at 36, damper 5is opened and the flame discharging from the burner will pass upwardlythrough the fine 40 and the water heater, and will then pass by thedamper 5 and into the stack. When the temperature of the water reaches150, a circuit is made through the opposite contact, and wires 14 and15. The motor circuit 9 is again closed and the switch actuated therebyis turned to an oppositeposition. The damper 5 is closed during thismovement, and the circuit through the motor 18, is opened, thuspermitting the motor to come to a stop and the oil to be shut off. Itwill benoted that the motor switches k7wand 9 are independently operatedas they are actuated by the respective thermostats 6 and 8. It is,therefore,

possible that both dampers may be opened if.

heat andwater are required at the same time. It will be noted that thespecification describes a hot air furnace. It should, however, beunderstoodthat a steam or water heating furnace system might be operatedif so desired, and that the presentsystem is by notmeans limited to ahot air furnace, as it is justas applicable'whether hot air, hot Wateror steam is desired. One feature which should be, considered is ,asfollows: By referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that when the motorswitch 7. is operated, crank arm 36 serves four main functions,-first,that of opening the damper 4, secondly, that of opening the aircontrolling damper20, and third, that of opening'the oilvalve .23, andfourth, that of closing the circuit through the motor ,18, and thesolenoid 26, which con-v trols the flow of gas throughthe pilot-light orburner 25. It might here be stated that the oil is controlled by twovalves indicated at 23and secondly by a valve shown at 23 7 The valve 23beingopened and closed in motor circuit 18. Valve 23 is never completelyclosed, it is completely opened when the hot air furnace is used, but itonly assumes a partially open position when the water heater alone isused. In other words, if the water heater alone is used a comparativelysmall amount of oily flows through the pipe 22 as valve 23 is onlypartially opened. Valve. 23* is full open when the motor circuit is on,and is completely closed when the motor circuit is off. Valve 23 is,therefore, merely a safety control valve. A comparatively small amountof heat is required when the water heater alone is being operated. It isfor this reason that it is not necessary to completely open valve 23 andair damper 20 when motor switch 9 is actuated. It is only necessary toopen valve 23 and the air damper 20 to complete open position when thefurnace is being used as a greater volume of heat is required and alsofor the reason that the water heater might also be required at the sametime;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a housing having a combustionchamber formed therein, a burner for said chamber, a heating chamber anda water heater in communication with said combustion chamber, a damperinterposed between the combustion chamber and the heating chamber andmeans for opening and closing the damper to direct the products ofcombustion either through the furnace or through the water heater to theexclusion of the other.

2. In a device of the character described, a housing having a combustionchamber formed therein, a burner for said chamber, a heating; chamberand a water heater in communication with said combustion chamber, adamper interposed between the combustion chamber and the heatingchamber, a second damper controlling the flow of prodnets of combustionthrough the water heater and means for automatically opening bothdampers either in unison or independently of each other, said meansadapted to close both dampers either in unison or independently ofeach'other.

3. In a device of the character described, a housing having a combustionchamber formed therein, a burner for said chamber, a heating chamberdisposed directly above the housing and in communication with thecombustion chamber, a Water heater also disposed above the housing andin communication with the combustion chamber, a horizontally disposeddamper" interposed between the combustion chamber and the bottom of theheating chamber, a damper disposed" at the upper end of the Water heaterand means for automatically opening and closing said dampers in unisonor independently of eachxother.

4:. In a device of the character described, a housing having acombustion chamber formed therein, a burner for said combustion chamber,a. heating chamber and water heater in communication with saidcombustion chamber, and means whereby all the products of combustion may.be directed either through the heating chamber or the water heater ordivided and directed through both, said means operating to closecompletely the communication between the combustion chamber and theheating chamber when the products of combustion are being directedsolely through the water heater.

5. In a device of the character described, a housing having a combustionchamber formed therein, a burner for said chamber,

a main heating compartment and a water i heater in communication withthe combustion chamber and adapted to be heated thereby, and meanswhereby all of the prodnets of combustion may be directed either throughthe main heating compartment or WILLIAM RUTH RAY.

